I suspect that kids who eat ice cream for breakfast grow up to be people who don’t let anyone tell them they can’t do what they want to do or accomplish what they want to accomplish. They are the kids that develop a passion and pursue that passion, kids who decide it’s more fun to be interesting than to be pretty, or handsome, or to go along with the crowd. If no one squashes them, they will grow up to be leaders, artists, inventors, or innovators. Her parents didn’t seem to be surprised or disapproving of ice cream for breakfast, so I would assume that they are not the kind of parents who will squash those traits in their children.
On a slightly warmer day not long after that, my cousin Alice and I met for our usual lunch at Fish Camp. When I got out of my truck, I noticed that she was examining the ground beside her van. “Come here and look at all these acorns,” she called. Alice and I have a long friendship and probably share more experiences that anyone else I know, all the way back to spending golden hours catching minnows in the branch, riding horses all over the neighborhood and exploring every square foot of our adjoining farms. We still meet for lunch most days through the week, and people around here have come to expect unusual things to happen when we are around.
So, it would not have been an odd sight to anyone who saw us behind the restaurant last week, studying acorns and taking pictures of them. Alice’s son Tommy was passing by with a load of hay and pulled in to ask what we were doing. He did not seem surprised when we explained that we were examining acorns. After almost three decades of observing us, probably nothing surprises him.
It has always been amazing to me that a huge oak tree grows from such a tiny source, or indeed that any tree grows from such a small beginning. The area where Alice noticed these acorns was at the foot of a very steep wooded bluff and the area was absolutely carpeted in acorns. There was nothing so unusual about them, except a lot of them were split open and when I picked up one of those, I noticed that it had sprouted. There was about an inch long sprout that could have produced an oak tree. Unfortunately, it had fallen on the edge of the pavement and the sprout had already turned brown and was beginning to shrivel.
People can shrivel too. We all sprout and grow, given enough sunshine and nurturing. The lucky ones have people around them to encourage, to let them live their passions, like the little girl eating ice cream for breakfast. I had been pondering these things for a few weeks, feeling the nudge I get sometimes when I need to write about something. Then, this past weekend, I attended a local concert and saw a young friend performing for the first time in several months. Sidney is a young musician from a small town nearby and I have watched him play his guitar and sing now for a while, tracking the results of his focus and hard work and enjoying his progress as an artist. When I find a young man who plays Tom Petty, Dylan and Bob Seger, I have to sit up and take notice! He has left his hometown and moved to Nashville, in pursuit of his passion, and I’ve followed his social media as he plays around Nashville and beyond. Before one of his songs, he had this to say. “When you find your purpose, you have to take a leap of faith to follow your passion.” Somewhere along the way, someone has given Sidney the confidence and freedom that he can spread his wings and fly. His talent has sprouted and found a place where it can put down deep roots and grow. I commend his family and friends who have helped cultivate his talent and his belief in himself.
I bought one of Sidney’s CDs after the show and made sure his signature was on it. I told him I wanted to be sure to have it so when he became famous, I could show people that I knew him “back when.” He gave me a big hug and a bigger smile. I hope I have played a tiny part in his belief in his dreams.
I wish now that I had taken that little sprouted acorn home with me and planted and watered it. It may have been too far gone, but I will always wonder if it would have revived enough to produce a baby tree. I also wish I had told that family at Homestead how great it was that their daughter was eating ice cream that morning. I hope she always eats ice cream for breakfast.
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